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Introduction
“The Best is yet to Come”
A Festschrift is normally a book honouring the contributions a notable person has made during their lifetime. A comparable volume written posthumously is termed a Gedenkschrift. This volume is neither of these, though it is written in honour of Jim Thomas by colleagues and friends who were (and still are) inspired by his energy, enthusiasm, and vision.
Tributes have already been paid to Jim Thomas in the following publications -
“In Memoriam: Jim Thomas 1946-2010”, IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, Vol 30, No 6, pp 10-13, 2010
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5613123
“In Memoriam: Illuminating Our Paths—James (Jim) Joseph Thomas,” D. S. Ebert, J. Dill, and D. J. Kasik, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, Vol 16, No 6, Nov/Dec 2010, p. xxi.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=5613420
“Jim Thomas”, B. Shneiderman and P. C. Wong, Information Visualization, 9, p 233-234, 2010.
http://ivi.sagepub.com/content/9/4/233
“The Four Roads Less Traveled—a Tribute to Jim Thomas (1946-2010)”, P. C. Wong,
http://vgtc.org/JimThomas.html
The visual analytics community
http://vacommunity.org/article3
Background to Visual Analytics and Visualization
For readers who are new to the field of visual analytics and visualization, or who have specialized in one particular area and would like an overview of the field as whole, the following references should be useful. They also contain bibliographies of further references detailing research and development in the field, so there is no overall bibliography in this volume (though there are references at the end of each chapter). The following references are given in chronological order.
“Visual Analytics”, P. C. Wong and J. J. Thomas (Eds), Special Issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Vol 24, No 5, pp 20-21, 2004.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=1333623&userType=inst
“Illuminating the Path: The Research and Development Agenda for Visual Analytics”, J. J. Thomas and K. A. Cook (Eds), IEEE Computer Society Press, ISBN 0-7695-2323-4, 2005.
Free download of the book (27 MB) - http://nvac.pnl.gov/agenda.stm#book
“Information Visualization - Design for Interaction”, R. Spence, Pearson Education Limited, 2nd edition, ISBN-13: 978-0132065504, 2007.
“Discovering the Unexpected”, K. A. Cook, R. A. Earnshaw, and J.Stasko (Eds), Special Issue of IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Vol 27, No 5, 2007.
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4302578
"Foundations and Frontiers of Visual Analytics", J. Kielman and J. Thomas, (Eds), Special Issue of Information Visualization, Vol 8, No 4, pp 239-314, 2009.
http://www.vismaster.eu/news/foundation-and-frontiers-of-visual-analytics/
(the above journal is no longer published by Palgrave and is now a Sage publication where online copies of articles are no longer free of charge).
“Mastering the Information Age – Solving Problems with Visual Analytics”, D. Keim, J. Kohlhammer, G. Ellis and F. Mansmann (Eds.), pp 170, Eurographics Association, 2010.
Free download of the book (23 MB) –
http://www.vismaster.eu/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/VisMaster-book-lowres.pdf
For general information on computer graphics –
“Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice”, J. F. Hughes, A. van Dam, M. McGuire, D. Sklar, J. D. Foley, S. Feiner, and K. Akeley, 3rd edition, Pearson Education, to be published May 2012.
Resources for Visual Analytics and Visualization
The following sites provide further information and resources for visual analytics and visualization –
National Visualization and Analytics Center, USA –
Regional Centers -
http://nvac.pnl.gov/centers.stm
Visual Analytics EU Portal –
http://www.visual-analytics.eu/
Related Web sites –
http://www.visual-analytics.eu/related/
The Visual Analytics Digital Library at Georgia Institute of Technology, USA –
Vismaster
International Conferences
The following are the principal international conferences in the field –
IEEE Visualization (since 1990)
http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/conhome.jsp?punumber=1000796
IEEE Information Visualization (since 1995)
http://conferences.computer.org/infovis/
IEEE Visual Analytics Science and Technology (VAST) (since 2006)
http://visweek.org/visweek/2011/info/vast-welcome/vast-welcome
This Volume
The motivation for this present volume came from the wish of the editors and the contributors to carry forward the vision of Jim Thomas, and seek to extend the frontiers as he would have done. Thus rather than reflect on many of his seminal contributions to the field, as a Festschrift volume would traditionally do, we have sought to bring together significant new material and look to the future. The aim is therefore to look forward - based on the foundations established in the past.
The volume contains the following sections –
· Evolving a Vision
· Visual Analytics and Visualization
· Interaction and User Interfaces
· Modelling and Geometry
· Architecture and Displays
· Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
· Technology Transfer
The book begins with the dynamics of evolving a vision based on some of the principles that Jim Thomas and colleagues established and in which his leadership was evident. It is then followed by chapters in the areas of visual analytics, visualization, interaction modelling, architecture, and virtual reality. The book concludes with the key area of technology transfer to industry. Invited authors with their co-authors have produced chapters under these general headings. Each chapter contains a summary of the paper in an Abstract with keywords. These Abstracts are also visible on the web in the electronic book corresponding to this volume.
One of Jim Thomas’ favourite sayings was “The best is yet to come”, and this volume seeks to point in the same direction. When engrossed in some of the more intractable research and development problems of the present this is not always easy to do. However, it is clearly always true. When we look back over the history of any discipline, it is clear that remarkable advances have been made over time. The important thing therefore is to recognise it to be true in the present so that those in the future may benefit.
In the spirit of “The best is yet to come” we also provide access to the following web site –
http://sites.google.com/site/introvisual1
which contains this Introduction online and which will be augmented with new information and resources as they become available in the future. It is therefore not a static document which will date with time, but a dynamic one that moves forward with the field. In this way, readers will have access online to the best and most up to date information.
We hope this volume serves its purpose, and honours the memory of a valued colleague and friend in one of the most appropriate ways possible.
Additions to the above are most welcome. Please send to R.A.Earnshaw@bradford.ac.uk
John Dill
Rae Earnshaw
Dave Kasik
John Vince
Pak Chung Wong
November 2011